Engaging with the Iliad: Long Delayed Recognition for World War II Warriors

Citizens have great respect for soldiers and honor their sacrifice for the protection of their country. Warriors regularly gain praise and recognition for their services, but this shocking story may reveal some of the noblest acts that went unnoticed for six decades!

A young man by the name of Sun Yinbai, was an interpreter between Chinese and American forces during World War II. While stationed at an airfield in Ankang, which safely landed multiple U.S. soldiers, Yinbai helped commence the refueling and repair of military airplanes. Although, most aircrafts successfully landed, there were a few that occasionally collided with other airplanes and thus created fatal explosions. As a result, many of the fallen soldiers not only died, but had their bodies vigorously torn apart, which Sun had to collect and piece together to form complete corpse

When recalling the noble acts of Sun Yinbai, one would assume that he would receive some type of commendation. However, many who had served under the Chinese leader, Chiang Kai-shek, went unacknowledged. The controversy of receiving recognition lied on the idea of opposing nationalistic and communistic views. Many communists believed that the nationalists held little to no significance in war. Therefore, the leading communist party did not want to associate the opposing nationalists with heroism. They did not want that glorified image to be connected to those who were not part of the Soviet regime. However, many people like Xue Gang, an amateur historian seeking justice for nationalist soldiers, have helped reform this idea. While speaking to communist officials, Xue Gang mentioned many of the contributions nationalist troops made within the war to aid their perspective in what was really important about China as a whole.

Despite the disputes between different political views within a nation, the noble acts of citizens who served in war should never be ignored. Warriors serve the most honorable roles in society for their courage and service to their country. Leaving their experiences and contribution out of history is equivalent to saying they never existed. People like Sun Yinbai will live forever, thanks to Xue Yang and many social justice warriors for unveiling the truth.

Makinen, Julie. "In China, Long-delayed Recognition for Troops Who Fought in World War II." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2015. Web. 1 Sept. 2015. <http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-china-war-veterans-20150901-story.html>.